Date: Mon, 15 Apr 1996 10:26:22 +0500
From: "Flynn Mclean"
Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 04/15/96
AIDS Daily Summary
April 15, 1996
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National
AIDS Clearinghouse makes available the following information as a
public service only. Providing this information does not
constitute endorsement by the CDC, the CDC National AIDS
Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction of this
text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC
National AIDS Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this
information. Copyright 1996, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD
************************************************************
"Children's Crusade"
"'Off-Label' Drugs Backed by State"
"Turning the Page"
"Preventing Muscle Wasting"
"300 New HIV Cases Reported Monthly in Malaysia"
"Abidjan to Host AIDS Research Center"
"Replication of HIV-1 in Dendritic Cell-Derived Syncytia at the
Mucosal Surface of the Adenoid"
"Demographic Determinants of Hepatitis C Virus Seroprevalence
Among Blood Donors"
"AIDS Shakes Up Japan's Status Quo"
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"Children's Crusade"
Wall Street Journal (04/15/96) P. A18; Shlaes, Amity
In a Wall Street Journal editorial, Amity Shlaes reports on
the conflict between saving babies born to HIV-positive mothers
and the rights of pregnant women not to be required to take an
HIV test. Doctors have found that giving an HIV-positive woman
AZT during pregnancy dramatically decreases the chance the child
will be infected. AIDS activists and women's groups object to
mandatory HIV testing of pregnant women, however. These
objections have resulted in weak policies and inconsistent
testing. Some doctors and nurses who treat pregnant women do not
advocate mandatory testing, citing concerns about disclosure and
discrimination. An HIV-positive mother who was not tested, and
infected her daughter, says the stigma is not as bad as the
disease.
"'Off-Label' Drugs Backed by State"
Boston Globe (04/12/96) P. 32; Foreman, Judy
Massachusetts health insurers will be the first in the
nation required to pay for "off-label" use of prescription drugs
for HIV and AIDS. "Off-label" drugs are those that have been
approved by the Food and Drug Administration for one condition
but may be effective for others. The new policy, which will
cover only benefit plans regulated by the state, was announced
April 11. The mandate covers 12 AIDS drugs currently, but others
could be added.
"Turning the Page"
Washington Post (04/13/96) P. B1; Kurtz, Howard
Andrew Sullivan, editor of the New Republic, announced
Friday that he is quitting his position and that he has decided
to disclose that he is HIV-positive. Sullivan, who has known for
the past three years that he has HIV, is still in good health.
He said he is stepping down because his five-year stint as the
magazine's editor was enough, not because he is sick. He
expressed relief about his disclosure, which he announced at a
staff meeting. Sullivan has written about his homosexuality, but
told few people about having HIV. He did host AIDS fundraisers
in his apartment, volunteered at the Whitman-Walker Clinic, and
was at the bedside of a close friend who died of AIDS last year.
He said he believes he will be among the first generation to
survive HIV.
"Preventing Muscle Wasting"
United Press International (04/15/96); Wasowicz, Lidia
Doctors reported today that they have been able to prevent
muscle wasting in mice with human cachexia, an achievement that
is important to people with AIDS, cancer, and arthritis. Human
cachexia causes weight loss in patients with inflammatory
diseases. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego
report their findings in today's issue of the Journal of the
European Molecular Biology Organization. They were able to
decipher the cascade of biological events leading to muscle
wasting in mice and developed a treatment that prevents weight
loss. Weight loss causes added health problems for people with
AIDS and cancer because it hinders their ability to tolerate
treatments.
"300 New HIV Cases Reported Monthly in Malaysia"
Xinhua News Service (04/14/96)
The Malaysian government announced Sunday that some 300 new
HIV cases are reported each month, and there are already about
15,000 cases in the country. Minister of National Unity and
Social Development Paduka Zaleha Ismail said the government is
concerned about the rise in the number of people infected with
HIV, and that the community must help to curb the increase. She
said 680 people under the age of 19 have the virus and that
parents, educators, and community organizations must play a role
in educating the young about AIDS. A special cabinet committee
is planning programs to decrease drug abuse and other negative
behaviors.
"Abidjan to Host AIDS Research Center"
Africa News (04/12/96)
Abidjan President Henri Konan Bedie will open the new Cote
d'Ivoire Center for Bioclinical Research on AIDS on April 17.
The center will conduct basic research on African HIV and treat
outpatients who have not developed symptoms of AIDS. The World
Foundation for AIDS Research and Prevention is creating the
center as part of an international program to fight AIDS. The
center will have a sterile, high-security laboratory, allowing
researchers to perform cell cultures on location, rather than
sending them to Europe or the United States. The center will
also be involved in training African doctors and scientists to
form a core of indigenous AIDS researchers. More than 70 percent
of the world's AIDS patients are in sub-Saharan Africa.
"Replication of HIV-1 in Dendritic Cell-Derived Syncytia at the
Mucosal Surface of the Adenoid"
Science (04/05/96) Vol. 272, No. 5258, P. 115; Frankel, Sarah
S.; Wenig, Bruce M.; Burke, Allen P.; et al.
Ralph Steinman of Rockefeller University in New York and
colleagues examined samples of adenoidal lymphoid tissue from 13
people who had enlarged adenoids removed. The tissues were
analyzed at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology because
initial analysis did not reveal the expected infections or
neoplasms. Many cells containing HIV-1 p24 antigen were found
just under the mucosa of all 13 specimens. Of the 12 patients
tested, all showed positive results for HIV-1 antibodies. Only 2
of the 13 had experienced AIDS symptoms, most denied high-risk
behavior, and 11 did not know they were infected. The authors
suggest that the adenoid mucosa promotes the interaction of T
cells with dendritic cells, which supports HIV-1 replication.
They propose that infants' lymphoid tissues may be infected by
swallowing the virus from the mother during birth or breast
feeding. Dendritic cells and T cells may also interact and
promote viral replication in inflamed genital surfaces, the
researchers conclude.
"Demographic Determinants of Hepatitis C Virus Seroprevalence
Among Blood Donors"
Journal of the American Medical Association (04/03/96) Vol. 275,
No. 13, P. 995; Murphy, Edward L.; Bryzman, Stephen; Williams,
Alan E.; et al.
Hepatitis C virus (HCV), the most common cause of
post-transfusion hepatitis, is found in fewer than 1 percent of
U.S. blood donors, but prevalence varies with demographic
factors.
The virus is known to be transmitted by blood transfusion,
injection drug use, tattooing, health-related exposures, and
possibly sexual contact. To estimate the seroprevalence of HCV
and its demographic characteristics, Edward L. Murphy of the
University of California at San Francisco and colleagues reviewed
data from more than 862,000 blood donors who made donations in
five urban areas between March 1992 and December 1993. The
overall HCV prevalence was estimated to be 3.6 per 1,000 donors.
Donors aged 30 to 39 with less than a high school diploma were at
highest risk of HCV infection. Other risk factors included male
sex, black race, Hispanic ethnicity, previous blood transfusion,
and first time donor status. The authors suggest that their
results could be used to select low-risk blood donors.
"AIDS Shakes Up Japan's Status Quo"
Lancet (04/06/96) Vol. 347, No. 9006, P. 961; Ross, Catrien
Although the Japanese government and five pharmaceutical
companies have settled lawsuits brought by hemophiliacs who were
infected with HIV through blood products, the fallout from the
scandal continues. Families of those who died of AIDS have filed
murder charges against Takeshi Abe, the doctor who was in charge
of the Heath Ministry's research team set up in 1983 and who
recommended in March 1984 that non-heat-treated blood products
continue to be sold in Japan. Renza Matsushita, a former head of
the health ministry's Pharmaceutical Affairs Bureau, has also
been charged with murder. After retiring from office, Matsushita
became president of Green Cross Corp., which had about 50 percent
market share of all blood products in the 1980s. During the
investigation, the company revealed that it had not recalled all
non-heat-treated blood products until more than two years after
it told the ministry it had done so. The company may now have to
pay penalties and suffer boycotts. Cases of non-hemophiliacs
infected through contaminated blood products are also being
investigated. Moreover, calls for more accountability in the
drug industry and the health ministry are increasing, as is
criticism of the close connection between the two.